DILLON JAMES GRESHAM
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2026-01-13
No. 5D2024-2473
Herndon, J., Harris, J., Boatwright, J., Kilbane, J.
336 So. 3d 391 2026 FL 342 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2026) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Holding

When a defendant's initial Rule 3.850 motion is legally insufficient, the trial court abuses its discretion by denying it without allowing at least one opportunity to amend.


Headnotes

[1] When a defendant's initial Rule 3.850 postconviction relief motion is determined to be legally insufficient, the trial court abuses its discretion by summarily denying it…

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Key Quotes

“when a defendant's initial rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief is determined to be legally insufficient for failure to meet either the rule's or other pleading requirements, the trial court abuses its discretion when it fails to allow the defendant at least one opportunity to amend the motion”

Court's statement of the applicable legal standard from Spera v. State

Facts & Procedural History

Dillon James Gresham appealed the trial court's summary denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction relief motion. In ground six, Gresham alleged a Giglio…

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Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, Dillon James Gresham, appeals the trial court’s order summarily denying his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm the summary denial of Appellant’s motion, except as to ground six. In ground six of the motion, Appellant claims that the State committed a Giglio 1 violation by introducing false testimony during his trial which helped secure his conviction. The trial court denied this claim, reasoning that Appellant alleged merely conclusory allegations and failed to state a legally valid claim. We agree that the claim is deficient, but Appellant did not receive an opportunity to amend. We therefore reverse for the trial court to give Appellant an opportunity to amend this claim, if he can do so in good faith. See Spera v. State, 971 So. 2d 754, 762 (Fla. 2007) (holding that when a defendant’s initial rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief is determined to be legally insufficient for failure to meet either the rule’s or other pleading requirements, the trial court abuses its discretion when it fails to allow the defendant at least one opportunity to amend the motion); Howard v. State, 336 So. 3d 391 (5th DCA 2022).

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.

HARRIS, BOATWRIGHT, and KILBANE, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and

authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.

_____________________________

1 Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972).

2


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